Apple COO: iPhone selling well, not “married” to one carrier

As usual, analysts are saying anything they can about the iPhone's potential …

As usual, Apple's iPhone sales outlook for the year is either looking up or down, depending on who you talk to. Bernstein Research doesn't think the "10 million in 2008" goal is going to happen, but Apple's Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook said otherwise today at the Goldman Sachs Investment Symposium.

As AppleInsider notes, Cook reassured investors that Apple is still on track to sell 10 million iPhones by the end of 2008. While critics of Apple's goal have cited various reasons—the lack of an unlocked version and Apple's single-carrier business model among them—for not believing it can happen, Cook reminded investors that Apple isn't married to any of these current decisions. Citing the particular conditions of the US wireless market and Apple's affinity for keeping things simple, Cook made it clear that the current decision to partner with specific carriers and lock the iPhone could change over time. The only thing Apple is committed to, Cook professed, is "shipping the best phones in the world."

Indeed, Cook's statements could be indicative of a second act for the iPhone this year. The iPhone made its debut last June and shook up the way the wireless market does business. But by doing so, Apple may have lowered its own barrier to entry for doing things like selling unlocked iPhones, while still scoring carrier-required features and even revenue sharing (Nokia hasn't exactly been quiet about its intent to follow Apple's lead there). Sure, a 3G iPhone may help boost sales to new and upgrading iPhone customers, but there are arguably far more customers around the world who haven't bought an iPhone simply because they aren't willing to leave their carrier or do the unlock shuffle.

Cook's sentiment silently capitalizes on these facts. If we don't hear anything about iPhone sales at next week's SDK event, we'll probably have to wait until this quarter's earnings call to get the official word. But if sales truly do begin to slump, Cook made it clear that Apple is ready to adapt and bring new strategies to the table.